Crib safety sheet/blanket

ABSTRACT

A crib safety sheet/blanket with a fitted sheet portion having a front surface and a back surface two opposing ends defining pockets for snugly fitting the sheet to a mattress. A blanket is sewn along its midline to the center of the fitted sheet, defining two blanket halves. Mating strips of hook and loop fastening material are attached to the two halves of the blanket, so that an infant may be placed on the blanket with the two halves of the blanket wrapped around the infant and fastened to retain the infant in a supine position. A plurality of elastic straps may extend across the bottom of the fitted sheet and be removably secured to the side of the sheet with mating strips of hook and loop fastening material to retain the sheet on the mattress.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/356,773, filed Feb. 15, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to sheets and blankets for an infant'scrib or bed, and more particularly to an infant sheet and blanketcombination adapted to secure an infant in a crib or bed.

2. Description of Related Art

There are a variety of infant blankets and coverings for infants presentin the art. In the past many designs functioned only to keep an infantwarm while sleeping. Today much more is known about infant sleepingpatterns and sleeping safety. The concern for infant warmth is nowshared with the concern for infant comfort and safety. Some infantsfrequently change positions while sleeping, so it is desirable to makean infant's sleeping enviroment as free as possible of suffocationhazards while at the same time insuring the infant is kept in a securesleeping position.

An additional consideration in infant bedding design is Sudden InfantDeath Syndrome (SIDS) in which an apparently healthy infant will expirein a crib for no apparent reason. While the causes of SIDS still remainsomewhat a mystery it is thought that sleeping in the prone position mayincrease the likelihood of SIDS. A device to maintain an infant in thesupine position while sleeping is therefore desirable.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,834 is typical of the earlier designs. The '834patent discloses a crib blanket which is secured to the side of a cribwith snap together fasteners. The blanket also contains a single strapalong the blanket's upper margin for securing an infant to the blanket.This invention will keep a blanket secure in its relation to the cribbut, unlike the present invention, uses only a single strap to securethe infant under the blanket. Further, the blanket is not attached tothe crib sheet.

Other designs such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,845,513 and 4,202,052 disclosefitted garments which are sewn to crib sheets to restrict the movementsof infants. The '513 patent shows a sleeping bag blanket secured to abedlinen sheet, the baby being secured in the sleeping bag by a diaperretainer with button down flaps and by a pull down zipper. The '052patent shows a sheet with a central pleat having an opening definedtherein to which a jacket may be attached, the jacket being securedaround the infant by what appear to be button or snap fasteners. Noblanket is shown. Infants must be manipulated to be secured in thesegarment-type inventions, which often wakes the infant as he or she isbeing put to bed, a highly undesirable side effect.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,729 discloses one bedding device designed to preventSIDS. It is a pocket like blanket device which secures an infant betweenone edge of the pocket and a mattress. This bedding device does notsecure an infant in the same manner as the present invention however,nor does it permit an infant to be positioned on its side without therisk of the infant moving into the prone position while sleeping. The'301 invention also does not prevent an infant from squirming downwardinto the blanket pocket which could cause a suffocation hazard.

Therefore, it is desirable to have an infant bedding product which willfunction to keep an infant covered and warm, is as free as possible ofsuffocation hazards, is easy to use, is adjustable and will prevent aninfant from moving into the prone sleeping position while stillpermitting some infant movement.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or incombination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The crib sheet/blanket has a fitted sheet with a top surface, a bottomsurface, and two opposing ends defining pockets for snugly fitting thesheet to a mattress. One end of at least two elastic straps is sewn toone side of the sheet. Hook and loop fastening material is attached toone side of the free end of each strap. Mating strips of hook and loopfastening material are attached to the other flat edge of the fittedsheet such that it may mate with the hook and loop fastening material onthe straps.

Attached to the center of the sheet is a rectangular blanket with afront surface and a back surface. The blanket is sewn along alongitudinal midline to the fitted sheet, defining two blanket halveswhich may be wrapped around an infant. Strips of hook and loop fasteningmaterial are attached to each half of the blanket so that the blanketmay be fastened around the infant to retain the infant in a supineposition while sleeping.

An infant may be placed on its back or side in the center of the blanketattached to the sheet. The edges of the blanket are folded over theinfant with one edge lying on top of the other edge. The edges areremovably attached to one another with mating pieces of hook and loopfastening material. When secured by the hook and loop fasteners, theblanket functions to completely encircle the infant from just under theinfant's arm pits to well past the infant's toes. The blanket isfastened securely enough to insure that the infant cannot roll into theprone position, but not so securely so as to preclude all movement ofthe infant.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide aninfant crib blanket/sheet combination which can secure an infant in oneposition while still permitting some movement.

It is another object of the invention to provide an infant cribblanket/sheet combination which is a one piece design which will reducesuffocation hazards.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an infant cribblanket/sheet combination which will sufficiently insulate a sleepinginfant.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an infant cribblanket/sheet combination which will allow an infant to be secured forsleeping with a limited amount of disturbance.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an infant cribblanket/sheet combination which will secure an infant and at the sametime allow quick and easy repeated access to that infant for monitoringand/or medical treatment.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements andarrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which isinexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing itsintended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmented, environmental, perspective view of a crib safetysheet/blanket according to the present invention with an secured infantsecured in the blanket.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a crib safety sheet/blanket positioned around amattress.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a crib safety sheet/blanket positioned arounda mattress.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom of a mattress equipped withan infant safety sheet/blanket.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a second embodiment of the safety sheet/blanketpositioned around a mattress.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The first embodiment of the present invention is an infant crib safetysheet/blanket 10 which, as seen in FIG. 1, is installed on a mattress ina crib, bassinet, or the like. The invention has a blanket portion 12(blanket) with a front surface and a back surface. The blanket isattached to a fitted sheet portion 14. The blanket 12 is preferably sewnto the middle of the front surface of the fitted sheet 14 by stitchingalong the longitudinal midline of the blanket portion 12, defining twohalves of the blanket which may be folded or wrapped about the infant.When in use, the blanket 12 is wrapped around an infant's torso andlower extremities (with one side overlapping the other side) so as tokeep the infant warm and securely positioned in the center of the safetysheet/blanket 10 on its back or side. The blanket 12 is held in positionaround the infant with four mating strips of hook and loop fasteningmaterial (discussed below).

When secured in the safety sheet/blanket an infant retains full motionin its arms and head and some lateral motion but is unable to rollcompletely over or to extract itself from the blanket 12. By securing aninfant in this manner there is a lower chance of sudden infant deathsyndrome, which is normally associated with infants sleeping in theprone position. The infant has no loose bedding materials upon which tosuffocate, and the infant cannot kick free of its blanket and becomecold during sleep.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the safety sheet/blanket wrapped around amattress with the blanket 12 laid flat against the sheet 14 and the backsurface of the blanket 12 coming into contact with the front surface ofthe sheet 14. The stitching 20, which secures the blanket 12 to thesheet 14, can be seen in this view. The hook and loop fastening material16 a, 16 b sewn to the front surface of the blanket 12 removablyattaches to corresponding hook and loop fastening material 18 a, 18 bsewn to the back surface of the blanket 12. FIG. 2 shows two sets ofmating hook and loop fasteners (16 a with 18 a, and 16 b with 18 b) butadditional fastener strips may be attached and used if a more securehold is required. FIG. 2 also shows the three elastic straps 22 a-22 cthat wrap under the mattress (discussed below) to secure the flat edgesof fitted sheet 14 to the mattress 24.

The blanket as seen in FIG. 2 may be adapted for smaller infants byfolding the sides of the blanket to reduce the blanket's overall width.Preferably, the right side of the blanket would be folded toward thefront surface of the blanket and fastened with snap fasteners 13 presentthereon. The left side of the blanket would preferably be folded towardthe back surface of the blanket and secured with snap fasteners 15present thereon.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a safety sheet/blanket 10 wrapped around amattress 24. This view shows the two pockets 26 a, 26 b defined in thefitted sheet 14 which secure the fitted sheet to the foot and headportions of a mattress 24. An elastic band 28 functions to keep the twopockets 26 a, 26 b securely wrapped around a mattress. Three elasticstraps 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c keep side edges of the fitted sheet 14secured to the mattress. The sheet 14 may have several cloth reinforcedgrommets 23 dispersed along the sides the sheet. These grommets 23 mayserve as anchor points for bungee cords or other suitable holdingdevices when securing the crib sheet/blanket combination to the bedframe of a large bed so that the crib safety sheet/blanket 10 may beused when a crib is not available, e.g., when traveling.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the bottom of safety sheet/blanket10. The elastic straps 22 a-22 c are removably attached to one side ofthe fitted sheet 14, one strip of hook and loop fastening material 30a-30 c for each strap 22 a-22 c being sewn to the fitted sheet 14 and amating strip of hook and loop fastening material 32 a-32 c (seen inrelief) being sewn to the elastic straps 22 a-22 c.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment 50 of the safety sheet/blanket that isused for infants who need additional physical support while sleeping.This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment and the samereference numbers represent identical components.

The second embodiment of the safety blanket/sheet combination has asecond blanket 40 with a top and bottom surface that is attached to thefirst blanket 12. The first blanket is shown larger in this figure forillustration purposes. One horizontal line of stitching 42 holdstogether the tops of both blankets and four vertical lines of stitching44 a-44 d hold together the edges and the centers of the blankets. Thefour vertical lines of stitching 44 a-44 d also divide the blankets intothree vertical sheaths 46 a-46 c. The bottoms of the sheaths 46 a-46 cmay be closed using the snap fasteners 48 located on the bottom surfaceof the second blanket 40 and the top surface of the first blanket 12.Hook and loop fastening material, zippers, and any other fasteningdevices known to one skilled in the art may be substituted for the snapfasteners. Some of the hook and loop fastening material 16 a, 16 b hasbeen moved in this embodiment to the top surface of the second blanket40 from their position in the first embodiment on the top surface of thefirst blanket 12.

The second embodiment of the crib safety sheet/blanket combination isused in the same manner as the first embodiment except that supportivematerial such as egg-crate cushioning material or air pad-type materialmay be inserted into the sheaths 46 a, 46 b, 46 c. Temperatureregulating material such as hot and cold packs may also be inserted intothe sheaths 46 a, 46 b, 46 c. The supportive material is secured insidethe sheaths by using the snap fasteners 48 located at the bottom of thesheaths.

It is well within the abilities of one skilled in the art to alter theshape and/or size of the fitted sheet and blanket to fit a variety ofdifferent infant sleeping devices such as cribs, bassinets, incubatorsand playpens. The sheet and the blanket may be made from any suitablematerial, including cotton, wool, polyester, silk and nylon.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to thesole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A combination safety sheet/blanket for infants, comprising:a fitted sheet having a top surface, bottom surface, a first side, anopposing second side, and two opposing ends, the ends defining pocketsadapted for snugly fitting about opposing ends of a mattress; a firstblanket having a top surface, a bottom surface, a top edge a bottom edgea left side edge, a right side edge and a longitudinal mid-section, themid-section of said first blanket being sewn to the top surface of saidfitted sheet, defining first and second blanket halves; blanketfastening means disposed on the top surface of said first blanket halfand on the bottom surface of said second blanket half for temporarilyfastening said first and second blanket halves of said first blankettogether when said first and second blanket halves are placed inoverlapping position with respect to one another to define a top openingalong said top edge and a bottom opening along said bottom edge; aplurality of straps, each of said straps having a first end and a secondend, said first end being fixedly attached to the first side of saidfitted sheet; strap fastening means for removably attaching the secondend of each of said straps to the second side of said fitted sheet;whereby said fitted sheet may be secured to a mattress and said firstand second halves of said blanket may be wrapped about an infant andsecured by said blanket fastening means in order to retain the infant ina supine position while sleeping.
 2. The combination safetysheet/blanket according to claim 1, where said blanket fastening meanscomprises mating strips of hook and loop fastening material disposed onthe two halves of said blanket.
 3. The combination safety sheet/blanketaccording to claim 1, where said strap fastening means comprises matingstrips of hook and loop fastening material disposed on the second sideof said fitted sheet and the first end of each said strap.
 4. The safetysheet/blanket for infants according to claim 1, further comprising: anelastic band disposed around the pockets of said fitted sheet.
 5. Thesafety sheet/blanket according to claim 1, wherein said straps are madefrom an elastic material.
 6. The safety sheet/blanket according to claim1, further comprising: a plurality of grommets disposed along theopposing sides of said sheet.
 7. The safety sheet/blanket combination ofclaim 1, wherein: said sheet and said blanket are made of materialsselected from the group consisting of cotton, wool, polyester, silk andnylon.
 8. The safety sheet/blanket combination of claim 1, furthercomprising a second blanket disposed upon said first blanket, wherein atleast one sheath is defined between said first blanket and said secondblanket.
 9. The safety sheet/blanket combination of claim 8, whereinthree sheaths are defined between said first and said second blanket.10. The safety sheet/blanket combination of claim 8, further comprisingsupportive material inserted into the at least one sheath definedbetween said first and said second blanket.
 11. The safety sheet/blanketcombination of claim 10, wherein said supportive material is foamrubber.
 12. The safety sheet/blanket combination of claim 10, whereinsaid supportive material is egg crate type foam rubber.
 13. The safetysheet/blanket combination of claim 10, wherein said supportive materialis a padding device utilizing trapped air.
 14. The safety sheet/blanketcombination of claim 10, wherein said supportive material is a coldpack.
 15. The safety sheet/blanket combination of claim 10, wherein saidsupportive material is a hot pack.
 16. The safety sheet/blanketcombination of claim 1, further comprising snap fasteners, said snapfasteners being disposed at the bottom surface of said first blankethalf and the top surface of said second blanket half for reducing thewidth of said first blanket.